The present invention relates to brackets, and more particularly to a bracket for mounting an outboard motor on a transom of a boat.
Conventional outboard motor mounting brackets are constructed of inverted U-shaped members having an upper body portion which spans the transom and spaced inside and outside legs extending downwardly therefrom defining a transom-receiving opening therebetween. These U-shaped mounting brackets are then clamped on the transom by various clamping arrangements.
One arrangement for clamping mounting brackets on the transom is by means of a thumb screw which is threaded through the inside leg of the bracket and bears against the inside of the transom as shown in Kueny U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,942. Such brackets are held on the transom by the frictional engagement of the outer leg and the end of the thumb screw. Outboard motors with thumb screw mountings, however, have a tendency to gradually work their way upwardly during high speed operation until the thumb screws clear the transom and the motor is lost.
Other arrangements for mounting outboard motors on the transom of a boat have included various means of bolting the mounting brackets to the transom. Mounting assemblies of this type are disclosed in Conover U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,250, Kiekhaefer U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,348 and Hale et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,952. Such assemblies, however, require tools such as wrenches to allow for installation and removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,348 also shows a mounting arrangement which utilizes a hand operated clamp screw which extends through the inside leg and transom and includes a threaded end portion for engaging a threaded hole in the outside leg. Thus, a single connection is provided for each bracket which causes both legs to engage the transom by friction and by the clamp screw extending therethrough.